“The impunity that the current Israeli government enjoys in its actions in Gaza and the West Bank has to change.”
Oscar-winning Spanish actor Javier Bardem has condemned “the impunity” with which Israel is committing “crimes against humanity” in its onslaught on the Gaza Strip and urged the international community to hold those responsible to account.
“What is happening in Gaza is totally unacceptable, it is terrible, it is dehumanizing,” Bardem said at a press conference during the San Sebastian International Film Festival in Spain on Friday. “I think that this Israeli government is the most radical government that Israel has ever had.”
The renowned actor said he believed Israel “is committing crimes against humanity and international law.”
“Obviously, the atrocious, terrible, and condemnable attacks of Hamas on October 7th, do not justify this massive punishment that the Palestinian population is suffering,” he added.
‘Unconditional Support’
Bardem went on to condemn the “unconditional support” that Israel enjoys from certain countries.
“The impunity that the current Israeli government enjoys in its actions in Gaza and the West Bank has to change,’ he stated.
“I think that countries like the United States, Germany, and England in particular have to rethink their unconditional support when we are seeing crimes in human rights, crimes of international legality, such as prohibiting the entry of food, water, medicine, and electricity, as UNICEF says, is a war against children, and the trauma that this is generating for generations.”
Spanish actor and Oscar winner, Javier Bardem, speaks out for Gaza at the San Sebastián Film Festival, calling out the Israeli occupation for committing war crimes. 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/su1USH69Vp
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) September 21, 2024
The actor added that “what I say or don’t say will not change anything, but I think society is beginning to understand that the legitimate right to criticize any government has nothing to do with, in this case, the false accusation of anti-Semitism.”
He noted that there were “many voices” in the last ten months “within the Jewish community” that have been against the actions of the Israeli government.
‘Our Responsibility’
Bardem further said, “We are all victims of what is happening…and we have the right and moral and ethical obligation to denounce what we consider unjust.”
He emphasized that it was “our responsibility … to denounce those situations that we consider unacceptable and ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ), to condemn and judge those responsible. In this case, (Benjamin) Netanyahu.”
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“To give unconditional support is more than giving wings to the abuse of international law,” Bardem added.
Israel continues to flout a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire and has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
Over 41,000 Killed
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 41,252 Palestinians have, to date, been killed, and 95,497 wounded. Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
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Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(PC, Anadolu)
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